The "Sherlock" Bible Reading Plan

Where the "Einstein" is about covering ground in reading through the Bible in a year, the "Sherlock" is about gaining ground in answering questions. Questions are the key to this plan. It can also feature a good amount of Bible reading, if you want it to. This plan starts with choosing a theme that you are passionate about exploring, that you NEED to learn about. Here are a few to choose from:

1) God's Love

2) God's Sovereignty

3) Mankind's Need for God

4) Christ Throughout the Scriptures

5) Hope

6) Healing

7) The Holy Spirit

You can choose another one. Whatever theme you choose you then apply to the following three questions: 

1) "What is the context of this verse or set of verses that speaks to my theme?"

2) "What did this verse or set of verse mean when it was written?"

3) "What does it say to me now?" 

Never ask, "What does it mean to me?" This distorts Scripture and reduces the impact of studying it. The Bible can only mean what it meant when it was written. This is the meaning it has and this is the meaning it keeps. We don't decide what it means; we discover what it means. We don't come up with our own answers; we learn the answers through hard work and God's help. 

Use a concordance to research where the verses in Scripture are that speak to your theme. This is important and takes a little work. The plan itself requires a commitment especially because it is less driven by boxes you can check and more driven by a passion you have to learn something about what matters to you. The ESV Study Bible would be a good resource for this plan too. There is a search feature organized by theme online. Of course, a notebook would be required for this one, I think. It also might be helpful to pick a daily devotional or two to fill out this plan and give it some daily structure. You can use the Daily Bread for this. Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest is always a good choice. There are countless others and new ones every year. Again, ask questions about any of this if you like. Also, see the other entries. May God richly bless your search for answers!